We talk about Madrid

In this chapter, we're going to talk about something different, something you can't touch but can feel. Rather than looking at buildings, monuments, streets, neighborhoods, or walkways, we're going to listen to what they tell us. Today, we focus on something we Spaniards are terribly good at: humor.

In Madrid, humor, irony, and even jokes have always been present. Join us to see what 19th-century Madrid residents laughed about.

Did you know that the Barrio de las Letras isn't an official neighborhood in Madrid; that it has five names; that it was very important during the Golden Age—which wasn't even a century, but almost two—and that it's been awarded a prize for its urban development? We're going to talk about all this and much more today.

Come with us for a tour of this unique area of ​​Madrid, full of history, culture, leisure and commerce.

In "We Talk About Madrid," we'll continue talking about luxury hotels that have disappeared. Today we dedicate the episode to the Mindanao Hotel. It was founded in the 60s, around the same time the Florida and Gaylord hotels disappeared.

It is a product of the expansion of tourism in Spain. It was located at 15 Paseo de San Francisco de Sales, on the corner of Gaztambide Street, in the Vallehermoso neighborhood of the Chamberí district. It was designed by architect Alfredo De Ramón-Laca Primo, who won the architectural competition held by its owner, Feliciano Barreda Fernández.

It opened on December 12, 1966. We'll talk about its building and also remember all the people who made it possible and contributed to its work to ensure its guests were happy.

We hope you enjoy this talk, as this hotel has many interesting stories and witnessed important events.

In "We Talk About Madrid," the De Salas Luxury Homes podcast, we discuss the DNA of Madrid. We talk about that Madrid genetics, about the essence of Madrid that gives Madrid and its people their own unique personality. 

You've probably wondered at some point why Madrid has districts and neighborhoods. Today, we'll look at the organization of life and community in Madrid, as well as the distribution of its population and its political structure.

Madrid has maintained its status as a town over time, making it the only town and capital of a state. We talked about the character of the people of Madrid, "cooler than the eight" but, at the same time, welcoming and hospitable to outsiders. 

If you don't know what the Old Charter mandated the people of Madrid to do and not do, the organization of the Council in coalitions, and its evolution to date, it's time for you to listen to this episode. You're sure to discover stories about Madrid you didn't know about. 

In today's podcast, we're going to talk about something different. Something that might surprise you a little. Do you know how many fallen angels there are in Madrid? You probably know that there's a statue of the Fallen Angel in El Retiro Park. The surprising thing is that today we're not going to talk about one, not two, but three fallen angels in Madrid. Let's find out!

And we won't just talk about angels; we'll also learn about what was there and what happened in that corner of El Retiro before the famous statue was placed there.

If you'd like to share this walk with us, feel free to listen to this podcast. We hope you enjoy it, and if you'd like, let us know what you think. 

With this episode of the series "Walls and Fences" we come to the last fence built in Madrid by Philip IV.

With Philip IV, we experience a tremendous historical period for Spain in every sense. On the one hand, we experience the splendor of the so-called Golden Age and, at the same time, the decline of the empire. Spain's enemies seized every opportunity to weaken its hegemony.

Madrid is in full swing. Its growth since the 16th century is unstoppable. It remains the seat of the kingdom and the center of plots for power among the favourites and the nobility.
The settlement of large families in their country houses led to the creation of "pueblas" (towns) and the construction of a new fence. As in the previous ones of the suburbs and of Philip II, it was also built to ensure that no one could escape paying to enter the town for sales or lodging.
A walk from the 16th to the 17th century with the two Minor Austrians, Philip III and Philip IV.

We're making progress in the formation of our city within the history of Spain. As part of our series on Walls and Fences, we begin three chapters dedicated to Madrid's fences. In today's first, we'll explore the period from the 12th century to the construction of a fence that surrounded all of Madrid's suburbs in the 15th century.

We explore a very long period of history with our two protagonists. The Christian kingdoms on one side and the Muslim kingdoms on the other. And of course, Madrid, our third protagonist, which is growing and gaining importance.

We tell lesser-known stories more closely linked to Madrid. While in Hispania, the Muslim Almohads consolidated their position in Al-Andalus and the Christians managed to defeat them, Madrid continued to grow. The formation of the suburbs outside the city walls extended beyond the Christian wall built in the 12th century. Do you know why they were created? Who ordered the construction of the fence around the suburbs?
If you want to know all this and more about Madrid, you've come to the right place. If you enjoy listening to this podcast, we'll have achieved our goal. If you also let us know in a comment, we'd love to share stories and talk about Madrid.

We continue our mini-series on the walls and fences of Madrid. In the previous episode, we saw what was happening in these parts before Madrid had walls and fences. We took a tour from the Metal Age, with its first inhabitants, through the barbarians and Romans, to the arrival of the Visigoths.

In today's episode, we begin by revealing the place where Saint Isidore, the patron saint of the Internet, sits waiting for us. We're going to recount the intrigues, power struggles, revenge, and legends of the Visigoths. What happened to them that caused the Muslims to dominate them so quickly? They were powerful, strong, and cultured. Did their perfidy cause their defeat? What else happened to them?

We'll also learn a little more about the Muslim Empire. We'll meet the Umayyads of Córdoba and the betrayals and murders of almost their entire dynasty. Who among them escapes certain death?

Meanwhile, in Madrid, the Muslim wall was built in the 9th century. We'll talk about its layout, its gates, and where the remains are to be seen.

An episode full of stories and interesting facts about Spain and Islam. If you'd like to learn how they influenced Madrid, join us during the construction of its first wall.